Woman Who Feigned Pregnancy and Cut Baby from a Womb Sentenced

A woman who feigned pregnancy and cut a seven-month unborn baby from a stranger’s womb has been sentenced to 10o years in prison by a Colorado judge. Thirty-six-year-old Dynel Lane used a kitchen knife to perform a cesarean section after she lured victim Michelle Wilkins to her home. Lane had placed an ad for maternity clothes on CraigsList.

Although she was seriously injured by the brutal attack, Wilkins survived but her unborn baby did not.

In July 2015, Lane entered a plea in Boulder County Court. She announced not guilty in the attack of the Longmont woman. Lane had been charged with eight felony counts, including a first degree felony for unlawful termination of a pregnancy, attempted first degree murder and first degree assault. The judge set her bond at $2 million. Defense lawyers not associated with the case speculated that she may assert an insanity defense, reported the Denver Post. An arrest affidavit said that Lane had admitted during an interview with a police detective that she had cut the child out of her mother’s womb.

The Post also reported that Lane allegedly hit Wilkins with a lava lamp and then stabbed her in the neck, and then cut the baby out of Wilkin’s womb. Wilkins told a police detective that Lane held her down and tried to first smother her with a pillow. Wilkins said “I love you” during the attack, and Lane replied, “If you love me, you’ll let me do this.”

During her initial interview with Detective Stacey Graham, Lane was sitting in a bed in a maternity ward of a hospital clutching the dead baby. She refused to let the baby go. She told medical personnel, police, and her common law husband that she had a miscarriage. Lane had been lying about being pregnant and she had been saying so for about fourteen months, reported the Denver Post.

Wilkins told authorities that she had trouble fighting off Lane because the blood made her hands very slippery. Law enforcement found a bloody handprint on the wall of Lane’s home.

Judge Maria Berkenkotter sentenced Lane on Friday, reported the Post. Wilkins showed a poster-sized photo of her unborn child during the sentencing phase. The unborn child’s mother had planned to name the little girl “Aurora.”

Lane’s mother, Carol DeHerrera, said Lane was never the same after her son died from accidental drowning. She said her desire for another child, “caused her to make this choice,” the Post reported.

A Boulder County jury convicted Lane on February 23rd after only seven hours of deliberation. They convicted her of one count of attempted first degree murder, four counts of assault, and one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy.

Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2